India has vital role in Pacific region disaster response

Despite being members of the Quad, it’s surprising that we haven’t started co-operating with India in the Pacific Islands region, an area of geopolitical interest to both states.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, former US president Joe Biden and former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, meet during the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Wilmington, Delaware, on September 21, 2024. Picture: AFP

The 2024 National Defence Strategy described India as a top-tier security partner for Australia. It said that we would look for opportunities with India to drive practical bilateral and multilateral co-operation. It’s therefore surprising that we haven’t started co-operating with India in the Pacific Islands region, the most natural disaster-prone region in the world and an area of geopolitical interest to both states.

There are several ways that Australia and India defence forces could work together on Pacific humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) in the Pacific. One way to get India involved is through the French, Australian and New Zealand partnership on HADR. The FRANZ arrangements are relatively informal. But they are widely seen as successful for supporting co-operation between the three countries and Pacific Island states for disaster preparedness and response. Because of India’s close relationship with both Australia and France, involving India in FRANZ makes sense.

In 2016 India sent a C-17 Globemaster to assist Fiji after Cyclone Winston. More recently India has provided some bilateral HADR, usually donating supplies, to the Pacific. It gave close to $800,000 to support relief efforts after the Vanuatu earthquake last December. The US gave half that amount.

India and Australia are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. It’s likely that Quad military co-operation will develop in disaster relief across the Indo-Pacific, including the Pacific Islands region. It’s got a working group focused on climate security and co-ordinates HADR through its Humanitarian Quad Partnership. There’s the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Program and the Quad Climate Information Services Initiative for information-sharing around climate data.

The Quad provided aid after a landslide in Papua New Guinea two years ago and after the Tongan volcanic eruption. The Pacific Regional Environment Program, a regional organisation based in Samoa and the Pacific Community regional body, where New Caledonia hosts the headquarters, both have technical skills in climate change. Along with the Pacific Islands Forum, they should be invited to contribute to Quad discussions on HADR. The Quad should include Pacific Islanders in their HADR tabletop exercises.

There’s the possibility of India being part of the newly agreed Pacific Response Group (PRG) to help with disaster relief. The PRG should consider expanding its membership. India’s not currently involved in the PRG. But India could play a role. The PRG includes Australia, New Zealand, PNG, Fiji, Tonga and France. It aims to provide military support to HADR in the Pacific within 48 hours of the need arising. The PRG will pool Pacific military resources in a more co-ordinated fashion.

Australia should be talking with India about a possible role in the PRG in areas such as financing, support transport, early warning systems, joint training, technology transfer, disaster risk strategy development, and empowering local communities, such as through first-aid training. Initially, the PRG will consist of a Pacific Special Advisory Team which will be based in Brisbane and include contributions from the militaries of PNG, Tonga, Fiji, France, New Zealand and Australia. The advisory team will provide military advice to an island country affected by a natural disaster when requested. India could be included.

Usefully, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of his 12-point development plan for the Pacific Islands announced in May 2023, said that sea ambulances would be provided by India to all 14 Pacific Island countries. This would almost be a mini version of Australia’s Pacific Maritime Security Program and might allow co-operation with our donated Guardian-class boats to the islands.

Why not include India so it can build its Pacific connections and contribute to a co-ordinated response to a future natural disaster?

India could support the Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program that aims to build local capabilities through the enhancement or establishment of HADR warehouses in 14 island countries. The forward positioning of emergency relief supplies is intended for distribution in the period immediately after a disaster, before external HADR arrives.

India should engage in HADR Pacific exercises. India could, for example, participate in exercises like the one that French forces in New Caledonia organised two years ago called Southern Cross. It’s held every two years. The 2023 exercise goal was training the French armed forces to lead a joint and allied HADR operation in the field of post-disaster relief: 3000 military and civilian personnel representing 19 nations were present. This year’s exercise was held in April and concluded in early May. The Australian contingent consisted of about 70 personnel, including a C-27J Spartan aircraft and crew, combat engineers, military police, health teams and planning personnel. India could participate in the next Southern Cross HADR multinational exercise in 2027.

India could also participate in the annual regional tabletop HADR exercise Longreach. This is an initiative of the South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting. Participants are from Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, France, Japan, the UK and the US. Why not include India so it can build its Pacific connections and contribute to a co-ordinated response to a future natural disaster?

The Australian and Indian navies could conduct HADR exercises in the Pacific Islands region. India already participates in the biennial RIMPAC exercise in the Pacific.

India could join in the health-focused, US-led Pacific Partnership. It’s the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific. Australia participates by providing medical, dental and engineering support, as well as expertise in HADR. Last year the Australian military supported partnered activities in Vanuatu and FSM. While India doesn’t have a hospital ship, it’s got a large defence medical community. India should participate in Pacific partnership.

While an observer, India could also come into the partnership in the Blue Pacific along with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, UK, US, Canada, Germany and South Korea. Australia is the current chair. The partners are supporting Pacific work on disaster risk reduction, such as the warehousing program.

There’s room for India to get more involved in Pacific HADR. It should appoint a defence attache to its two Pacific posts in Port Moresby and Suva. India wouldn’t have to do much to win over the island countries in need of help. The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and dismantling of USAID is benefiting China in the region. India has a very good record in tackling China’s political warfare.There’s no better time for Australia to be deepening our defence co-operation with India in the Pacific.

---

Anthony Bergin is a senior fellow at Strategic Analysis Australia and an expert associate at the National Security College.